Because Less Really Is More

I am informed by many that kids are expensive and have the tendency to overtake the entire house. But seriously, does it have to be this way? I may be in the minority to think not. Going on round two myself, I seem to have caught a very early nesting urge...or my spring cleaning desires are finally resurfacing. Either way, I'm looking at all our baby things and thinking, "Do I really need this?" I notice that many parents in the U.S. get bitten by the "I have to have it because it's so darn cute and is dripping of all things baby" bug, especially with their first kid.

I myself have gone slightly overboard in this area (Read: little girl clothes), if not buying then accepting items on loan that I'm pretty sure my mom never used with her TWELVE children. Granted, some little inventions are life-savers. Hear this: I am determined not to acquire loads of additional...stuff...regardless of baby gender this go-around. With that in mind, here are some of my personal thoughts (based on my experience as the second eldest of 12 kids, and also as a mom. My purpose is to show that baby and children things don't need to rule our homes, causing stress from clutter and overwhelming options. These are just some ideas to start with. As usual, my other purpose is to simply organize my thoughts as I work through this myself.

High chair

With cracks and crevices abounding and taking up excessive amounts of space, it is more trouble than it's worth in my opinion. If you feel you must have a nice, softly padded high chair, at least get one that breaks down very compactly for storage purposes. We have a second hand Peg Perego one that I love (as far as high chairs go), minus that fact that it takes up precious space when in use. It does store like a sardine in our very small laundry room.

So what do I use for a little one at meal times? I prefer the Fisher Price booster chair which straps to your dining room chair and makes it easier for the family to sit down to dinner together. It has it's own tray, but I like to just pull it up to the table. It's easier to clean, with few crevices, and it packs up nicely with a shoulder strap for transporting to restaurants (if you don't like to use their sticky ones), other people's houses, and whatever else. We bought ours (used) for portable purposes but we have turned to it more often than the big high chair since the princess took her first bite of rice cereal, so today I finally put the big high chair away.

Baby Bathtub

This is a great way to kill your back right after giving birth. I borrowed a couple different ones from my sister-in-law (I didn't like the first one), and I ended up using the sink instead. Then once Bella was old enough, she sat in a couple inches of water in the bathtub. Actually, truth be told, I STILL use the sink with that girl once in a while.

Bottle warmer

Great device if you're busy and have your hands full. You probably do! More often than not, I needed the milk 5 minutes ago once I was actually heating the it. In that scenario, a bottle warmer is too slow and I prefer to run hot tap water over the bag of milk. It requires more caution than a bottle warmer too make sure you didn't make it too hot, but it's worth the speed.

And since microwaves are a no-no for heating anything for you baby (if it kills nutrients in breast milk, surely it kills nutrients in all food. I don't usually reheat my food in a microwave either.), then the bottle warmer is a great solution for heating prepared jars of baby food.

Making Your Own Baby Food

A blender or regular food processor works just as well (or better) as most products marketed specifically for making baby food. Store in Gerber jars (buy and dump or ask someone to save you jars) and freeze. Thaw in the fridge and warm using a bottle warmer.

Baby Swing

This one is tricky because it really depends on your baby. The swing was my only relief in the early months of my daughter's life. That is how I would sneak my shower in, folks. Other babies are a little more easy going in those first weeks and don't demand constant comfort. For us the swing was a necessary evil, so we have a small one that does not take up the majority of our living space unlike so many that I have seen, and it folds up neatly for closet storage. It's very basic but it worked for us!

Other Non-Essentials

*Bassinet - you already have a pack 'n play to use in your bedroom/living room, remember?
*Pajamas for baby aren't important if you have plenty of clothes already.
*Baby lotion - most babies in my experience rarely need it.
*Lots of toys. It's silly how few toys a kid actually plays with.
*Supply of bottles. If you're breastfeeding, you should only need a handful a bottles for date nights or daddy time.
*Toddler dishes. Cute but do not stack nicely. I say use the family dishes for baby and toddler.
*Toddler potty seat - nice but is something else to clean and store. I vote for teaching the child to sit on the adult toilet.

Other "Life Savers"

*Mirror for baby in the car so you can see why the child is fussing during the rear-facing days.
*Cloth swim diaper (for those of us in very warm climates)
*Sling or baby carrier for hands-free closeness
*Nursing cover
*Toddler spoons and forks (metal with plastic handles is my preference)
*A good, large stroller can be essential but only if you are an "on the go" type who needs lots of storage space in the stroller. For example, someone who travels a lot or enjoys long outdoor activities.

I could go on and on, but I'm going to wrap this up for now. I may add to my lists later as I think of things. Now, I'm off to simplify! Or at least do the dishes. :-)